Doctor from Long Beach arrested on child pornography charge

SANTA ANA - A Santa Ana physician was arrested Tuesday on a warrant accusing him of possessing about 1,000 images of child pornography on a computer he used at work.

Dr. Pete Thomas of Coastline Podiatry in Santa Ana turned himself in to a judge when an arrest warrant was issued for him, Santa Ana police Cpl. Anthony Bertagna said.

The judge sent Thomas to police, where he surrendered himself, was booked and held on $50,000 bail in the Santa Ana jail, Bertagna said.

Thomas, 58, of Long Beach, came under suspicion when a computer technician spotted the questionable material on his computer while installing new printing software on the office's system, Bertagna said.

Some images allegedly depict children from 7 years old to their early teens engaging in sex acts with other minors or adults, Bertagna said.